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COVID-19 PANDEMIC UPDATES

Suspension of cord blood collections in response to COVID-19 pandemic

Monday, March 16, 2020

March 16, 2020 – Following new recommendations from the Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as increasing hospital restrictions and resource availability, Canadian Blood Services’ Cord Blood Bank will temporarily suspend its collections at 11 p.m. this evening (March 16, 2020) for an indefinite period to contribute to the collective efforts in limiting the spread of COVID-19.

We realize this decision may affect many families who had registered to donate their babies’ cord blood at one of our four cord blood collection hospitals across the country.

For patients who might be concerned, Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Program continues to follow all standards and regulations as per usual, and we are working within the latest recommendations from the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) — an international network of registries and cord blood banks that share a global database where all potential donors and cord blood units are listed. We will continue to help patients get the stem cells they need.

Canadian Blood Services will also continue to work closely with provincial/territorial partners, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada, Héma-Quebec, international blood agencies, and the World Health Organization to monitor the COVID-19 situation. We will resume collections as soon as deemed appropriate.

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Canadian Blood Services acknowledges the funding of provincial, territorial and federal governments. The views expressed in this document are those of
Canadian Blood Services and do not necessarily reflect those of governments.